History

In 1954 Frank Zak opened F & G Welding Supply. Frank was an extremely hardworking man. He grew up on the family farm in Sunderland, Massachusetts. After graduating High School in 1934 he moved to New York City to begin studying at New York University. After graduating in 1939 he attended Lincoln school to learn how to weld. This training landed him a job as a welder in the New York shipyards.

After many years as a welder, Frank began working at Whaley Bros; the largest Lincoln Distributor in New York City. One day Frank's boss got angry and yelled to him "Frank, you are so stupid you don't even know when to come out of the rain." Frank had had enough and knew if he was ever going to make it in this industry that he would have to start his own business. Frank and another employee of Whaley Bros. opened F & G Welding supply in 1954. It was a struggle but Frank was determined. Within a year, Frank's partner had died of a heart attack. Frank then hired Bob Zeigler, an Airco employee. Soon after, Frank and Bob began merging and acquiring local businesses.

1960: F & G Welding Supply acquired Armour Welding.

1967: F & G Welding Acquired Barto Welding In Flushing Queens, NY.

1968: F & G Welding merged with Arrow Welding of Farmingdale, New York. This formed a new corporation, Fabro Industries.

1978: Fabro Industries merged with Rayno Distributors to form who we are today, Airweld Inc. Rayno was a Union Carbide distributor that started in 1917 as Perfection Storage Battery.

1978: Airweld Inc. purchased Eastern Standard Oxygen in Bellport, New York.

1981: Airweld opened a new corporate headquarters / warehouse / retail facility in Farmingdale, New York.

1984: Airweld Inc. purchased Whaley Bros.

At this time Frank had already retired but was extremely joyful to hear that we bought the company he had started at. Frank has said that being called stupid by his former employer was the greatest thing anyone could have ever said to him. It was what pushed him to start his own business.

1986: Airweld Inc. purchased Consolidated Oxygen in Brooklyn, New York.

1989: Airweld Inc. acquired Ceramic Nozzle Inc. in Hicksville, New York.

1992: Airweld Inc. purchased Robinson Bros. Industrial Corp. in Brooklyn, New York

1992: Airweld Inc. also purchased Allied Welding in New Hyde Park, New York.

1992: Airweld Inc. made their third purchase of the year with Suffolk Oxygen Supply in Ridge, New York.

1993: Airweld Inc. purchased Suffolk County Welding Supply in Middle Island, New York.

1993: Airweld Inc. acquired ASCO's facility in the Bronx.

1995: Airweld Inc. purchased the cylinder assets of Atlas Gas, a major New York Distributor in Brooklyn through bankruptcy.

1995: Airweld Inc. purchased Queens Refrigeration, an Anhydrous Ammonia supplier in Queens, New York.

1997: Airweld Inc. purchased Atlantic Industrial Gases in Brooklyn, New York.

2001: Airweld Inc. purchased AGA Gas's Mount Vernon business.

2004: Airweld Inc. purchased American Industrial Gases of New Hyde Park, New York.

The 2004 Acquisition of American Industrial Gases has been our most recent acquisition to date and hopefully not our last. It is all these mergers and acquisitions that have made us who we are today: Long Island and Metropolitan New York's Largest Independent Distributor of Industrial Gases and Welding Supplies.